Here is Question No. 96 a part of our series on UPSC Prelims 2022.
Q96. The Prime Minister recently inaugurated the new Circuit House near Somanath Temple at Verval. Which of the following statements are correct regarding Somnath Temple?
- Somnath Temple is one of the Jyotirlinga shrines
- A description of Somnath Temple was given by Al-Biruni.
- Pran Pratistha of Somnath Temple (installation of the present-day temple) was done by resident S. Radhakrishnan.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer- A
- Statement 1 is correct. Somnath is a magnificent temple the location of Somanatha was earlier referred to as Prathasa Pattana, a well-known Tirtha or place of pilgrimage in Saurashtra. It is situated on the west coast of Kathiawar and is at present under Junagadh. It was associated with the nearby confluence of three rivers and it adjoined the port of Veraval. One of the 12 holy Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva is in Jyotirlinga here in Somnath. The site, which was part of the erstwhile princely state of Junagadh was also connected to Lord Krishna. The political history of the shrine is traced back to a thousand years when in 1024 CE, during the reign of the Chalukya king Bhima I it was attacked by Turkik ruler Mahmud of Ghazni.
- Statement 2 is correct. A description of the temple by Al-Biruni, an Arab traveler, was so glowing that it prompted a visit in 1024 by Mahmud of Ghazni.
- Statement 3 is incorrect. India’s Iron Man and First Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on November 13, 1947, promised to rebuild the temple. Today’s Somnath Temple is built on its original place in seventh place. In 1951, India’s first President Dr. Rajendra Prasad proposed to purify Jyotirling, he said, “This temple of Somnath is a symbol of victory over construction on destruction”. Then President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, did the PranPratistha at the existing temple on 11 May 1951.
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